This is not true. You can easily forward a port on your router and point to your local HA installation, including free LetsEncrypt certificates.

If you choose to pay for Nabu Casa, you support the project on the one hand and on the other hand you get a HTTPS remote URL using their remote access tunnel.

HA remote access is not paid only, it works fine if you make it accessible from your local network. You can also do Google/Alexa integration on your own, there are instructions in the documentation.

The paid service handles SSL and dynamic hostnames for you without having to expose stuff on your network. It also provides the cloud endpoint that Google and Alexa require. They in no way stop or impede you from doing any of that yourself, however.

My pwrsonal setup is using cloudflare's tunnel so it doesn't even need port forwarding. And then I did alexa myself since I have an aws account anyway for some free tier stuff.

You can still access HA directly through a browser, of course. And if you set up a VPN (ala PiVPN or something similar), you can access it anywhere, as well.